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How many PKs could you make? (2 Viewers)

ok... I played at a div1 top 20 school in college, semi-pro afterward (there was no MLS), and just sub national team as a youth. took PKs for my state team and for my HS, but not in college. took some PKs in front of several thousand in semi-final tournament conditions (in europe). I've taken probably close to 100pks in my life... missed a handful. granted- not against a top pro GK.

recently played my first college alum game- or game of any kind- in more than 10 years. hadn't kicked a ball in anger prior, but can still juggle. I could barely kick it to the net at this point, let alone beat somebody in goal. right now? 0-1/10. give me a week or so... I'd jedi-mind-#### the crap out of ANY GK and put in close to all of them.

 
El Floppo said:
ok... I played at a div1 top 20 school in college, semi-pro afterward (there was no MLS), and just sub national team as a youth. took PKs for my state team and for my HS, but not in college. took some PKs in front of several thousand in semi-final tournament conditions (in europe). I've taken probably close to 100pks in my life... missed a handful. granted- not against a top pro GK.

recently played my first college alum game- or game of any kind- in more than 10 years. hadn't kicked a ball in anger prior, but can still juggle. I could barely kick it to the net at this point, let alone beat somebody in goal. right now? 0-1/10. give me a week or so... I'd jedi-mind-#### the crap out of ANY GK and put in close to all of them.
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i did not know this about you el guappo but holy schmoley thats pretty cool brohan good on you that rules take that to the bank brosocco 

 
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I played a bunch of soccer back in the day as both a goalie and as a forward (school teams and club teams - didn't play in college but practiced with them frequently just for kicks) . Certainly not at a world cup level, but I at least have some knowledge and experience.

From the shooter's perspective, there are certain places if you put the ball the goalie can't get to. I don't care if you are a world cup, elite level goalie. The one thing I have found a little odd in the PK's that I have seen in this world cup is the shooters all seem to strike the ball as hard as they can. From what I saw as a player, changing up the speed of the shot can actually be an advantage as the keeper could dive and take himself out of the play on a softer struck kick. I think most missed kicks are just that. The shooter misses the net more than the keeper stops the shot.

I still say that the best play which a lot of players don't usually do is to just kick the ball straight down the middle. Keepers typically dive one way or the other and will get out of the way of the ball. Anything a few feet off the ground will work pretty much every time. Doesn't even have to be kicked all that hard.

Back in my playing days, I don't believe I ever missed a penalty kick in a game. We would have team PK competitions and I think the few times I didn't make one I hit the post. I don't ever remember the goalie making a save.

From a goalie's perspective, a bunch of players I played against either had tells in terms of which side they would be going or had preferences and tendencies as to where they almost always kicked. I tended to guess right way more than you would think and blocked a higher % of PK's than the norm. But in practical reality, against legit soccer players a keeper really shouldn't have much of a chance. I believe the conversion rate on international PK's is 85%.

More recently, even old, overweight, and out of shape I have taken penalty kicks for fun with my kid's teams or their friends (varsity HS soccer players). Still convert the huge majority of the time. I have tried to stop kids as the keeper and pretty much only succeed once in a great while in making a save. It's usually they make it or they miss the goal.

As for the question in the thread in general, I think a goalie would get a slight advantage in having the same person shooting 10 times in a row. That somewhat eliminates some of the guesswork in having to stop one shot without any intel. Even in my state of lack of physical conditioning and not having played competitive soccer in forever and a day, I would guess I would make 5 shots. As Floppo said, with a week to prepare, it would be probably 7 or more.

 
i know it is not what you asked but one time i actually used a band saw to cut the letters p and k out of some plywood it was a huge pain in the rear and i will never do it again so the answer for me is 1 of each and it will stay that way take that to the bank brochachos 

 
I’d just load up the Scott Sterling video on my phone so goalie and I could have a good laugh together and save everyone else the embarrassment of such a spectacle 

 
NewlyRetired said:
that is an important distinction.  Against pros, the keepers have to make an educated guess and go with it.  Against a bunch of amateurs, he would simply wait and dive after the kick.
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I tried to factor this into my thought process.  Ideally I'd like to think I can hit 1 out of 10 that is simply unstoppable...upper 90, side netting, something that no GK is going to stop.  I'd have to hit with enough power to actually force the GK to at least somewhat guess.....trying to simplyplace a ball, no matter how accurate I am, is going to allow the GK enough time to read the shot and react to stop it.  So inevitably I'd probably miss the net a few times.  Hopefully I'd get lucky 1-2 other times and get the GK going the wrong way.

I think what Kanell is underestimating is the power required to get a shot past one of the world's elite GKs.  Sure, it's a big net, but he's going to be off his line cutting down the angle as much as possible instantly, and if you don't hit it with power he's going to be able to see it off your foot and react with time to spare.  Hitting a soft line drive into the corner isn't all that difficult for an average Joe Sixpack who plays soccer regularly, but that's not going to beat an elite GK.

 
Anarchy99 said:
I still say that the best play which a lot of players don't usually do is to just kick the ball straight down the middle. Keepers typically dive one way or the other and will get out of the way of the ball. Anything a few feet off the ground will work pretty much every time. Doesn't even have to be kicked all that hard.
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I remember watching a Euro Cup game a LONG time ago... maybe Yugo vs Italy or W Germany. I assumed that latter team would win, but Yugo hit every single ball straight down the middle and high- and didn't miss a shot. GK kept committing- as they were told to do back then- to one side or another, getting low to the corner as quickly as possible. just as we shooter was told to do- low and hard inside the post. if the GK had stood still, almost every shot would have bounced off his head or chest..

 
It’s super easy to hit pk’s as you have the advantage and the GK is likely gonna guess wrong.  Just keep your head down, don’t have any “tells” that let them know where you’re going, and hit the ball firmly into the left or right side and you’ll do fine.

All that being said, for me 0/10

 
I played when I was 8 or 9 years old at the YMCA. Relying on that training, I'd hope to not get distracted by a bird or a bug. Even then, zero.

 
Anarchy99 said:
with a week to prepare, it would be probably 7 or more.
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There are pro's who make millions of dollars to play the game.

From that incredible vast group of talent, one or two players on each team is designated as the PK taker during a regular season.   This person represents the best of the best in that specific skill.

And even with all of those acknowledgements, those top of the top players make only slightly more than 70% of the PK's on average.  And that 70% is NOT against WC level goalkeeping, which, in general, is going to be much higher quality on average than a regular club game.

Does it seem a bit outrageous to anyone else that some one would be as good as the top playing pros in the world, who have been doing this since they could walk, with only a week of practice, and doing it against a top goalkeeper?

 
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Steve Tasker said:
I think what Kanell is underestimating is the power required to get a shot past one of the world's elite GKs.
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I would guess Kanell has the raw power - but would have no control.  And, just like golf, the harder you swing, the less accurate you will be.

And, there is actually a very small margin for error when you swing for the fences, so to speak - anything above 30o in height and probably 40o in width is going to miss the goal.

 
NewlyRetired said:
There are pro's who make millions of dollars to play the game.

From that incredible vast group of talent, one or two players on each team is designated as the PK taker during a regular season.   This person represents the best of the best in that specific skill.

And even with all of those acknowledgements, those top of the top players make only slightly more than 70% of the PK's on average.  And that 70% is NOT against WC level goalkeeping, which, in general, is going to be much higher quality on average than a regular club game.

Doesn't it seem a bit outrageous to anyone else that you would be as good as the top playing pros in the world who have been doing this since they could walk, with only a week of practice, and doing it against a top goalkeeper?
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71.5% in World Cup history and closer to 75% in other major tournaments according to the Googles. 

This is not a hard task.  The guys saying zero must have no athletic ability whatsoever.

 
Grahamburn said:
71.5% in World Cup history and closer to 75% in other major tournaments according to the Googles. 

This is not a hard task.  The guys saying zero must have no athletic ability whatsoever.
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I've never kicked a soccer ball except to move it while cutting the grass. Having said that, I figure I'm good for one.

The fact that the best of the best do 75% in world competition makes me wonder how an average joe would actually do. If you're saying 3, then what you're really saying is you'd be less than half as good as a world pro.  Since I'm not as athletic as I wish I was, I feel 1 is a comfortable estimate

 
Grahamburn said:
71.5% in World Cup history and closer to 75% in other major tournaments according to the Googles. 

This is not a hard task.  The guys saying zero must have no athletic ability whatsoever.
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I did not say it was a hard task.  I meant that it seems very unlikely to me that an amateur could become as good as the top playing pros in the world with one week of practice.

 
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Tom Servo said:
I've never kicked a soccer ball except to move it while cutting the grass. Having said that, I figure I'm good for one.

The fact that the best of the best do 75% in world competition makes me wonder how an average joe would actually do. If you're saying 3, then what you're really saying is you'd be less than half as good as a world pro.  Since I'm not as athletic as I wish I was, I feel 1 is a comfortable estimate
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Even with no idea how to control it if you aimed  directly at the keeper and hit it with some pace I bet you'd get 3 by him.  The chubby girl in the video posted above snuck a watermelon past the guy. 

 
Kanil said:
If the O/U was 0.5 I'd bet on me.  If it was 1.5 I'd bet on the goalie.
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I'm in total agreement here. 

The odds of me pulling a hamstring are probably a little better than those of getting one in the back of the net.   

 
Sinn Fein said:
I would guess Kanell has the raw power - but would have no control.  And, just like golf, the harder you swing, the less accurate you will be.

And, there is actually a very small margin for error when you swing for the fences, so to speak - anything above 30o in height and probably 40o in width is going to miss the goal.
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Well that's kinda what I was getting at.  It's easy to look and think "that net is huge, I can easily kick it to the corner" without realizing the combination of power and accuracy required.  

 
I could get 1-2 easy, 3-4 if hitting the 90's accurately.  I've played as a striker for about 10-12 years growing up and still have pretty good shot pace off the foot for a 30-something average joe.  

 
-fish- said:
I'm in total agreement here. 

The odds of me pulling a hamstring are probably a little better than those of getting one in the back of the net.   
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I'm probably only getting 5 on net... if that.

 
NewlyRetired said:
There are pro's who make millions of dollars to play the game.

From that incredible vast group of talent, one or two players on each team is designated as the PK taker during a regular season.   This person represents the best of the best in that specific skill.

And even with all of those acknowledgements, those top of the top players make only slightly more than 70% of the PK's on average.  And that 70% is NOT against WC level goalkeeping, which, in general, is going to be much higher quality on average than a regular club game.

Does it seem a bit outrageous to anyone else that some one would be as good as the top playing pros in the world, who have been doing this since they could walk, with only a week of practice, and doing it against a top goalkeeper?
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The goal is 24 feet wide by 8 feet tall = 192 square feet feet. A 6 foot tall goalie fully extended could reach 8 feet. For argument's sake, say a keeper can block an area 8 feet by 3 feet = 24 feet in total. Science tells us that a goalie can only cover roughly 1/8th of the goal. It doesn't matter who the goalie is, elite world cup player, paid millions of dollars or not.

It's also science that standing in the middle of the goal, no matter who it is, could dive and reach 10 feet from the center of the goal. Meaning that ANYONE would get a goal kicking within two feet of the post at ground level. The fact of the matter is, there are places a goalie CANNOT ever cover on a penalty kick, no matter who the keeper is.

90% of penalty kicks shot high toward either side of the goal have gone in throughout the last 40 years of the world cup. 100% of PK's shot high down the middle have gone in. Only 20% of PK's in the world cup were saved. 5% of penalty kicks were misses (not on target and not saved). Bottom line, kicks more than 4 feet off the ground that are anywhere between the posts and crossbar have gone in (the ones that didn't hit the post or sailed over the bar). Shots low and within diving range of the goal have been stopped 42% of the time.

Maybe saying with a week's practice making 7 out of 10 might be overly optimistic, but it might not be that crazy for folks that played soccer for years and years. The issue would be if a week's worth of practice could result in being able to consistently place the ball where keepers can't get it. And IMO, the impact of an elite goalie might be 5-10% (so maybe he gets to one ball that regular goalies wouldn't). Clearly this is all guesswork, as such a scenario is not going to play out.

 
Anarchy99 said:
. The issue would be if a week's worth of practice could result in being able to consistently place the ball where keepers can't get it. 
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Not to repeat myself again, the best penalty takers in the world have been practicing their entire life to put it where the keeper can't get it.

As you said there is no way to prove this but I do admire your confidence to be as a good as a pro in a week.  I don't posses that type of self confidence.

 
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trident said:
Zero.  Because I wouldn't waste time even wanting to kick a soccer ball.
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When you can't even see your feet ,without sitting down, its probably not worth the effort to try and kick something that's on the ground. 

 
NewlyRetired said:
Not to repeat myself again, the best penalty takers in the world have been practicing their entire life to put it where the keeper can't get it.

As you said there is no way to prove this but I do admire your confidence to be as a good as a pro in a week.  I don't posses that type of self confidence.
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Hmmm. This would tempting. Practice for a week and then take 10 shots against a local HS goalie (or even no goalie at all). It would be pretty clear which shots would be in, which ones stood a chance of being stopped by a legit goalie, and obviously any shots that were just plain off target. I don't really have the time or the interest to try it, but something similar could be attempted.

I took on similar sports challenges over the past few years. My teenage son kept saying how a pitcher on his baseball team threw gas and was unhittable and I would not be able to even get a foul tip off of him. I hit the first pitch over the center field fence. I told my football playing son that back in the day I could make 50 yard field goals off a tee. I could never kick that far now, so the challenge was to make a 40 yarder in 3 attempts and I made one. Neither of those are exactly setting the bar high for athleticism. But that was then and this is now, as the saying goes.

 
Grahamburn said:
Even with no idea how to control it if you aimed  directly at the keeper and hit it with some pace I bet you'd get 3 by him.  The chubby girl in the video posted above snuck a watermelon past the guy. 
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Lol are you trolling. He didn’t even move. Let it in. 

 
proninja said:
The average guy would have to get exceptionally lucky with the kick of his life in the perfect spot to even get one. If the over/under was set at .5, I'd take the under. 
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Not sure how you are defining "average" guy - but there are probably a half-dozen people here that I would easily take the over.

 
proninja said:
Just exchanged a few texts with a guy I know who used to play pro keeper, and is still involved with the game. I'm being intentionally vague as to his qualifications, but he's got some authority. 

He said that the average guy off the street can't strike the ball well enough to force a pro keeper to commit, the keeper can just react, and if the keeper can react the average guy has "little to no chance" against a pro keeper. 

The average guy would have to get exceptionally lucky with the kick of his life in the perfect spot to even get one. If the over/under was set at .5, I'd take the under. 
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Not fully buying it. Maybe guys off the street that never kicked a soccer ball before and never played a sport, well, pretty much ever. But people that played competitive soccer for 10-15+ years? There are plenty of spots to place the ball where even the most skilled goalie couldn't get to. They aren't defending hockey goals. Heck, I could even tell the goalie exactly where I was going to kick it 10 times in a row and I would get at least one in.

 
proninja said:
Sure, and I'd imagine those people have some pretty significant playing experience. 

If you can strike the ball with pace, I'd argue you're not the average guy. 
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Well, thats why I was asking how you are defining the "average" guy.

I agree, that anyone with no soccer experience has no real chance here - no matter how athletic, or how hard they think they can kick a ball.

 
We should start a thread where the question is "what could you be as good as a top pro in, with only one week of practice?"  Doesn't even have to be sport.  We could do music, cooking, what ever.  

I am going to guess acting in porn won't be high on the list  :kicksrock:

 
proninja said:
But if you told a world cup goalie exactly where the ball was going to go, and then it went there 10 times in a row, you're daft if you think he's letting one through. 
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This is actually the most difficult part of the challenge.  

Its relatively easy to put one ball past the keeper.  But, most people, even soccer players - have a preferred shot selection.  And, they are probably decent at that specific shot selection, but having to vary the shots for 10 rounds means you'll be kicking towards less preferred spots - and that gives an advantage to the keeper.

 
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